Sandy stories, including school misinformation, spin over social media

Information spreads fast in the social media world. So does misinformation.

As area residents braced for the arrival of Hurricane Sandy this week, notices of cancellations and postponements were rocketing across Facebook and Twitter. But they weren't always correct.

From trick-or-treating postponements to road closings, some wrong information was creating confusion for Central Massachusetts residents.

“Somewhere on someone's Facebook page someone must have posted that the city was going to postpone (trick-or-treating),” said Colleen Bamford, Worcester City Hall spokeswoman.

It didn't take long to spread like wildfire.

“People started calling the city manager's office last week and we told them nothing had been changed,” Ms. Bamford said.

The rumors persisted enough that the city put a note on its website telling residents the trick-or-treating day had, in fact, not changed. As of this afternoon, Ms. Bamford said the city had no intention of changing it.

By late this morning, rumors also started circulating across the Web that Massachusetts was closing down all of its highways. That did not occur, although Connecticut had shut down highways, likely prompting the confusion.

Other information about specific power outages and what was open or closed also circulated. By early evening, rumors that Worcester had canceled school through Thursday were rocketing around Facebook.

At that time, the school district had made no decision about any cancellations or delays beyond today. However, the district did announce around 9 tonight that schools will be closed tomorrow.

The earlier misinformation was traced back to a 2011 story on telegram.com about cancellations following the Oct. 30, 2011, snowstorm. The story was being linked to as if it were new.

Despite the occasional incorrect post, however, a lot of accurate information was being shared feverishly on the Web.

Social media has increasingly become a major factor in the way people connect around natural disasters. As of this afternoon, the hashtag “Sandy” had 233,000 photos posted on Instagram, the mobile photo-sharing service owned by Facebook.

“HurricaneSandy,” meanwhile, had 100,000 photos, and “Frankenstorm” had 20,000 and growing.

“There are now 10 pictures per second being posted with the hashtag “Sandy” — most images of people prepping for the storm or images of scenes outdoors, said Instagram CEO Kevin Systorm in an emailed statement.

The Telegram & Gazette ran a live storm blog at telegram.com throughout the day with up-to-date announcements and information on the storm in an attempt to curtail any misinformation and disseminate facts.

Ms. Bamford said the city also keeps its website up to date with any changes and announcements.

“Go to the city's website and the city's Facebook page,” Ms. Bamford said. “It's updated actively, right from City Hall.”